Two Midland women in TV battle to be Sir Alan’s next apprentice

TWO whizz-kid women from the West Midlands will be battling it out to be Sir Alan Sugar’s next Apprentice.

TWO whizz-kid women from the West Midlands will be battling it out to be Sir Alan Sugar’s next Apprentice.

The new series of the top BBC reality show starts next Wednesday and features two local women.

Paula Jones, a 29-year-old human resources manager from Walsall, and lawyer Anita Shah, aged 35, from Birmingham, will be hoping to clinch the £100,000 job.

They will be among 16 contestants taking part in the fifth series of The Apprentice.

Ms Jones has a masters degree in industrial relations and human resources management and describes herself as “an academic with a love for interior design”. At 18 she was a sergeant in the Army cadets.

She said: “I am the girl with a plan. I have great wit and strength of character and I am resilient to the core.”

Although Ms Shah has a law degree and postgraduate diploma in legal practice, she is working as a business strategist.

Her ambition is to launch a business “providing emotional, psychological and spiritual therapy”.

“I can deal with questions and make impactful statements,” she said. “Many lawyers can’t.”